Rainfall
by Bellaluna1
Summary: One rainy summer day Hermione comes across a very wet looking Draco. An impulsive move involving an umbrella leads her to a whole new relationship with the Slytherin, but will the relationship last? HGxDM
1. Introduction

Rainfall

Introduction-Hermione

Bellaluna

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Please do not copy or steal any of this fanfiction.

Author's Notes: My first Harry Potter fic and it's a DracoxHermione. I blame this completely on my friend Lori who asked for a DracoxHermione ficlet for Christmas and then all these plot bunnies spewed forth and this story was born. Now admittedly, this story will stray far, FAR away from the main plot of the Harry Potter series. The timeline will be the summer before and the 6th year of Harry and Co, but the main plot ideas of the original book will take a back seat to fluff and stuff of this fanfiction. Well anyways, please enjoy!

Introduction-Hermione

It was raining out. Hermione hated it when it rained, especially in the summer time. The humidity did nothing for her already frazzled brown locks. The tepid weather had her in a foul mood that early July morning and the sight that greeted her at the bus stop didn't make matters any better. In fact it made things, if possible, a thousand times worse. The one thing that Hermione never, ever expected to see in her Muggle neighborhood was sitting right there at the bus stop bench. Sitting on the bench was Draco Malfoy. Not only was Draco sitting there, but he was drenched by the downpour of summer rain. Hermione never gave Draco much credit for anything, but she had to think that sitting in the rain was something he'd think to avoid.

Hermione's first instinct was to leave, but quite unfortunately, she needed to get to the part time job she had picked up at the beginning of the summer and the bus was the best transportation she could use at the time. Taking a huge breath as she straightened her self up, Hermione made her way across the empty street to the bus stop. Surprisingly it took a few moments for Draco to realize he was no longer alone and looked up at saw Hermione. Instantly his expression went from that of vague disinterest to that of anger and disdain, directed right at Hermione.

"What are _you _doing here Mudblood?" he sneered.

"I think I should be the one asking you that. You're the one sitting at the bus stop of a Muggle community in the pouring rain without an umbrella, not me," Hermione smoothly retorted, gripping her own umbrella tightly to emphasis her point.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business."

"Then the same goes for me."

An awkward silence fell over the two of them, which came as a mixed blessing to Hermione. She was certainly grateful that Draco wasn't saying anything more to her, but at the same time she felt the tense feeling in the air that he could say something at any moment. The fact that he was even there was baffling enough, but why on earth was he staying?

Thankfully it did not take the bus long to arrive at the stop, but it had been long enough for Hermione. As soon as the metal doors folded open, Hermione hopped up on to the first step, holding out her umbrella behind her. She turned a bit in order to close her umbrella before going up all the way, but as she turned she was surprised to see that Draco had not budged an inch and didn't look like he was going to any time soon. She was caught starring too long by Draco who returned her stare with another disdainful glare.

"What?"

"Aren't you coming?" Hermione asked against her better judgment.

"No," Draco replied as if it were obvious, which really it was.

"Well, fine!" Hermione huffed as she struggled with her umbrella, still trying to close it. However, the umbrella didn't appear to be too cooperative of Hermione's plan. Try as she might she couldn't fold the thing completely down. With red cheeks, Hermione peered up and saw that Draco was looking at her with a completely smug grin. He apparently was taking great joy in Hermione's uncooperative umbrella. Hermione felt a growl growing at the back of her throat as she wanted to release a slew of angry statements right at Draco's direction, but instead she found herself thrusting her arm out at him, holding the umbrella right at his face.

"Take it," she grumbled.

"Wha-?" Draco began.

"Just take it!" Hermione snapped before Draco could even finish.

Without another word Draco reached out and took the umbrella from Hermione. Just as the brunette let go of the umbrella, releasing it to one of her most hated classmates she just barely felt a tingle run up her spine as her hand brushed against his. With a curt nod and quick spin on her feet Hermione hurried up the rest of the steps, dropped her fare into the collection bin and found her seat. As she felt the rumbling of the bus starting up again, she dared to glace out the window and watch Draco sitting under her umbrella as the bus passed by. With a sigh she let her head rest against the coolness of the glass window, her thoughts swirling all about. She couldn't help but wonder just what on earth had compelled her to do such a thing.

It had to be the rainy day.


	2. Summer: Idle Minds

Rainfall

Chapter One

Bellaluna

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. However the plot found below is mine, so please do not copy or steal it.

Author's Notes: I return with chapter two, thanks to much encouragement from Lori. Not much to say, but please enjoy!

-Summer: Idle Minds-

Well that had certainly been different. Draco sat on the hard wooden bench, his eyes transfixed on his own hand holding on to the handle of an umbrella which had previously been the possession of one Hermione Granger. The one thought that kept circling in his mind was just what in the world had possessed her to do such a thing to him of all people. He was certain she must be going mad. It wasn't like her umbrella made a particular difference anyways. He was still soaked through; his once crisp clean shirt, clinging to his skin and his usually slick blond hair was drooping lamely against his forehead.

Hermione had asked why he was there and the truth of the matter was he was in no condition to face his mother and eventually his father with what he had done the previous day, and so he sat there for hours; thinking and plotting. What he needed was a lie and a good one at that. He didn't particularly feel bad for his actions. In fact, he was rather proud of them, but just being in a Muggle town would send his mother into a tizzy and who knows what his father would have to say once she got word to him about it all.

This was obviously all Crabbe and Goyle's fault. It was their cowardice that led him to the little Muggle shop where chaos had ensued the previous evening. Summer vacation had quickly become dull to Draco and his cronies as they spent day after day in one spot or another doing absolutely nothing. So one day Draco found it upon himself to do something interesting.

"What do you want to do today?" Crabbe had asked out of routine. He leaned back in his chair anticipating the usual reply of 'nothing really,' but Draco had something else in mind of course.

"You know what would be an amusing way to waste our day instead of sitting around this old place _again_?" Draco asked coolly.

"What?" the other two asked dumbly as they starred at Draco with dull anticipation.

"What if we messed with some Muggles, for fun and all?"

"But we're not supposed to…" Goyle started but was quickly cut off by Draco.

"Oh, please, like I'd let us get caught. We'll just go into town and have a little fun."

Fun. Is that what he had called it? Well it had been fun, of course, until it all went horribly, terribly wrong.

He had easily led them to a Muggle town, and they found a relatively secret place to stay until nightfall. When the time was right they walked about the town which was relatively empty by then. They only passed a few people on their way around. Soon they came upon a small family owned grocery store. In Draco's mind this was the perfect target. When they had arrived, the elder shop keeper was bustling about the dimly lit store, cleaning it up before the final minutes till closing time arrived. There were no customers in sight so Draco decided to make this their moment to strike. As he approached the entrance to the shop, Crabbe and Goyle shuffled along on either side of Draco. He could feel their nervousness as they twitched about and shifted their eyes from left to right over and over again. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes Draco stretched out his arms and smacked the two of them at the back of their heads.

"If you two are so afraid, then why don't you go and watch for anyone coming."

Without a word the two of them scrambled away from the entrance, leaving Draco to pull off the dastardly plot alone. Inside, the shopkeeper was passing by a perfectly innocent looking pile of tomatoes. Of course they weren't perfectly innocent for long thanks to Draco. He stepped into the shop and nonchalantly began to look over some fruits. Then with a hidden swish of his wand and a whisper of "wingardium leviosa,' the tomatoes floated into the air, only to be catapulted directly at the shopkeeper. The older man let out a cry and ducked behind a shelf of bread products. Meanwhile, Draco was doing all he could to stop himself from laughing out loud at that very moment. It was vital that he keep his composure. While the shopkeeper was distracted by the tomatoes that continued pelting at him, Draco slipped over to the register which had been left open for counting. Quickly he snatched the money and headed back towards the door.

'My, won't this be inconvenient?' Draco thought as a smug smirk spread across his pale face. He was a bit disappointed in himself, lowering himself to a crime such as petty robbery, but when boredom strikes, one must do what one must do. It was a delight to think of how distraught the shopkeeper would be when he realized his money was gone.

However, it seemed that not everyone had the same feelings as Draco did towards his genius plan. As he turned around it was not his two cronies who stood waiting for him, but a complete stranger, apparently another Muggle who worked at the shop. Immediately Draco's wand-wielding hand dropped behind his back. He may have wanted to cause some trouble but her certainly knew better than to let loose the notion that there were wizards about to the Muggle world. That would be far too much trouble to avoid.

"Why you little git!" the man growled as he roughly grabbed Draco by the wrist, extracting the money from his hand at the same time.

"Unhand me at once!" Draco shouted indignantly. How dare this Muggle handle him in such a manner? Okay, maybe he had deserved it, but he still had to have his dignity after all.

"Unhand you? I don't think so! Not after this little prank you pulled on Mr. Philips. I don't know how you did it, but you're going to pay for it!" the man spewed out angrily as he pulled Draco away from the fruit stands. "What do you got behind your back there?"

"Nothing," Draco replied as he quickly dropped his wand where it lodged itself between a couple bunches of bananas. It was now obvious by now that he was on his own. Crabbe and Goyle must have bolted at the first chance they got.

'Pathetic,' Draco thought. 'Absolutely pathetic.'

Silently, he walked behind the man; all the while planning his eventual escape. And he would do it the second he was released, even for a second he would be out of there. And sure enough the man let go of Draco's hand in order to go help up the older shopkeeper now that the dreaded tomato attack had ceased. With a smug grin on his face Draco took this all too opportune moment to flee from the shop and run far, far away. He was amazing! He was a genius! He was…

Of course it wasn't until he reached the bus stop that he realized he had left his wand behind.

"Bloody hell," Draco murmured as his grip on the umbrella grew tighter. The rain was beginning to slow; apparently it was only an early morning shower. So now he still needed a lie. Now that he thought about it, not only did he need a lie, but he also needed a plan to get his wand back. He couldn't very well just go waltzing back to the shop. There was no way he was going to chance getting caught by Muggle police and getting tossed into jail even for a few hours. Malfoys did not go to jail.

Well…

Malfoys did not go to _Muggle _jail.

The lie was easy enough. His mother could easily be made to believe that he was out somewhere with Crabbe and Goyle. Even though they ran away they knew enough to cover for him. If they didn't, he'd certainly have a _present _for them.

When a plan did finally come to him, at least three other busses had come and gone to the stop with an occasional Muggle or two stepping off. With every bus the fleeting thought of Hermione came to Draco's mind. Of course each time he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. He did not have the time to be bothered by her foolish and trivial actions.

---

Hermione was furious.

After she was done being shocked that is.

For the second time that morning Hermione was greeted with an unexpected and unpleasant sight. The small shop in which she was now employed had apparently been ransacked in the night and the culprit had fled. The few remains of splattered tomatoes remained on the floor where Thomas, the co-owner of the shop was scrubbing them up with a sponge. Mr. Philips, the owner, was sitting at the counter, rubbing his forehead and looking generally confused.

At first Hermione wasn't furious, just shocked and concerned for Mr. Philips. She stepped over to him and asked about the attack. That is when she became furious. Flying tomatoes and a blond boy in green and black? Of course only one solution came to mind.

Draco.

With her fist balled up tight and her teeth clenched, Hermione asked to leave for a while, assuring Mr. Philips that she would find the person who pulled the horrible prank on the store. Once she had permission, Hermione marched out to the door, only to freeze right in front of the fruit stand. Sitting there, perfectly placed was a wand, Draco's wand to be exact. She snatched the wand and continued on her way. Oh, he would pay. He would pay dearly.

---

Draco was quite sure a very angry herd of elephants were heading his way. From under the protection of Hermione's umbrella Draco could feel the trembling sensation grow from the pavement, to the bench and to his body. Curiously, he tilted the umbrella open and peered out to see what was coming his way. It was not a herd of elephants, but in fact it was a very angry looking Hermione. He grimaced and hurried off on his feet. He readied to drop the umbrella and make a run for it so as not to experience the wrath of young witch. He assumed that she had finally had enough time to comprehend just what it was she had done and was coming back to somehow fix her obvious mistake. However, as he prepared to leave for another, more private thinking spot Hermione let out a shout like he had never heard before. She sounded, if possible, even angrier than when she had hit him over that silly bird. Now Draco certainly didn't want to stick around. His face wasn't used to being abused, and he didn't wish to have it any other way.

"DRACO MALFOY!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs as she marched across the street. "I knew you were a horrible, slimy, coward, but I NEVER thought you would stoop so low! I can't believe you would even think to try such a nasty prank!"

Draco froze. She knew what he'd done. Fantastic. Now he supposed that being the little goody two-shoes she was, Hermione would up and tell Dumbledore, not to mention those two morons she hung around with and before he knew it the whole school would know. Not good. Draco did not go near Muggles, even if it was to mess with them. It just wouldn't suit his reputation at all.

"Oh, really?" Draco said as he spun to face Hermione, easily keeping his cool. "And just what are you going to do about it? Going to go tattle on me, Granger?"

"Please, Malfoy," Hermione replied, amazingly coming down from her anger. She now stood before him in a calm and collected manner, then remainder of the shower falling on her and clinging to her brown curls. The most unsettling part of this picture before him was the smug, almost evil grin on her lips. "Tattling wouldn't do a thing except bruise your ego. What I have planned for you is much, _much, _worse."

With doubtful eyes Draco crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"So what exactly is this terrible punishment you have all planned out for me?"

"You will repay Mr. Phillips for what you have done, by working in his store for the summer, _without _pay."

Draco could help but snort at this outrageous plan. It was one thing to pull a prank on a Muggle and run away, but there was no way that he was ever going to take another step into the shop ever again, let alone work in it.

"And what pray tell makes you think I would ever comply with this clearly ridiculous punishment?"

"Oh, no reason," Hermione started slyly as she turned around and began to walk away. She paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Oh, wait," she gasped mockingly. Then, from her pocket she pulled out something.

"My wand!" Draco shouted.

"Oh my, that's right. I just happen to have found this at the store…"

"Give me that back or so help me…"

"I don't think so," Hermione replied as she slid the wand back in to her pocket and gave Draco a teasing wink before she continued on her way.

Draco stood in his spot, limply holding the umbrella in his hand as he watched Hermione walk away, going further and further off in the distance. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that what Hermione had just done was almost…sexy.

Fortunately, he did know better.


End file.
